Ever feel appreciated when a customer invests time and money on your small business? Ever thought of returning that feeling of appreciation? If you own a small business, you probably already know how important a good customer relationship is to any company. And an integral part of a good relationship with your customers is letting them know you appreciate their business. With the holiday season right around the corner, this is a great time for marketing your business, and what better and more natural way to do that than by giving your customers some heartfelt gifts?
There are a ton of companies out there that show appreciation to their customers during the holiday season by setting up a special gift giveaway. And if you’re looking for an easy boost in your business, you should definitely try out this strategy. To help you out, we’ve compiled the best gift ideas for customers we could think of.
1) Give out free samples with every purchase!
Who doesn’t love free samples? If you’re a small business looking to get more recognition for your products and don’t have the budget to go big with customer gifts, this is the perfect solution for you. As a skincare company, you can send out small vials of your new face mask, or a travel-sized pack of your body lotion. For makeup brands, send out some fun sized makeup items. If you’re a home-based bakery owner, some cute little cupcakes should go great with every order. You can create a bunch of fun sized free samples to send out with each customer order to make your customers feel special.
Famous shaving tool brand Gillette sends out free razors, shaving cream, and more to customers who sign up for their newsletter. You can do something similar and send out nicely packaged free samples of your best sellers to your loyal customers to thank them for signing up.
2) Send out personalized merch
If you want to add a touch of brand recognition to your client giving strategy, personalized merchandise is the way to go. Renowned companies like the New Yorker Magazine sent out free branded tote bags with purchases of the magazine. Not only does this create more brand recognition for the brand, it gives the customer a memorable item to keep with them that serves as a reminder of the brand’s gesture.
If you want to do something similar, you can create branded shirts, bags, caps, mugs, and more to send out to customers who subscribe to your service, or buy your products.
3) Free gift vouchers
Why not give customers the chance to choose their own gift from you? One great way to do that is through custom gift vouchers for your customers. You can set up the following criteria for your gift vouchers to incentivize customers to shop more:
- A free $15 voucher on a purchase of $50 or less.
- A free $30 voucher on a purchase of $100-200.
- A free $50 voucher on a purchase of $300 or more.
If you own a service-based business, you can swap out the monetary value of the vouchers with free services. Here are some ideas:
- A voucher for a free haircut on a customer’s 10th visit at your salon.
- A voucher for a free massage session from your spa on a customer’s birthday.
- A holiday voucher for a free greeting card with every gift purchase.
You can create your own personalized vouchers to make this easier! Go to PosterMyWall to find a wide variety of free gift voucher templates, and choose the best one to customize according to your preferences. Add your brand logo and details to your gift voucher as well as the details of what the customer will be winning or receiving. Once you’re done, you can print some up to keep at your front desk so you can pack one with every purchase. You can also send them out to your customers through email along with confirmed online purchases.
4) Offer extra services with every purchase
One of the easiest ways to go above and beyond for your customers is by offering extra services following their purchase. This can be done in a variety of ways and is one of the simplest new customer gift ideas.
If you own a gift store, for instance, you can offer free custom packaging during the holiday season for gift purchases. As a bakery, you can offer free personalized messages or cake toppers along with every cake purchase. If you own a stationery store, offer personalization on notebooks and pencils that your customers purchase. You can even offer free alterations on clothing if you’re a retail clothing store owner.
The idea is to provide your customers with an extra service so that they leave happy. Skincare and beauty brand Bath and Body Works offers free gift packaging for your products in their stores if you want to create a bundle out of them to give to someone as a present.
5) Offer free deals for returning customers
When thinking about how to make your customers feel happy, it’s especially important to think about returning customers, who need to be appreciated for their brand loyalty. There are a bunch of great gift ideas for customers that can be used here, but nothing beats a free product or service for repeat customers.
The Starbucks loyalty program is a great example to look into when thinking about these ideas. Their Rewards program is a great way to encourage customers to buy from their brand by promising stars and rewards on each purchase. You can set up a similar rewards program where you can create loyalty cards and offer customers free products or services on repeat purchases.
6) Offer discounts for new customers
What’s a better way to reel in new customers than through discounts made specially for them? First time discounts are the best new customer gift idea because they encourage new clients to spend more time on your business.
You can set up a ‘10% off on your first purchase’ discount on your website and in-store to bring in new customers. This will not only help confirm first-time purchases, but following up on such discount offers with loyalty cards and reward programs might win you a long-time customer.
7) Give them a shout out on social media
If you’re a small business owner, you probably have a select number of repeat customers that you might really want to show your appreciation to. Well, why wait for your customers to give you a booming review? Why not give them one first?
You can use your Instagram account to give your loyal customers a shoutout and thank them for supporting your small business. You can use custom Instagram post templates to keep your feed on brand while giving shout outs, and this can also help you assure your customers that you’re appreciative of their support.
8) Set up a referral incentive program
If you’re looking for ways to find new customers while also making sure to appreciate your current ones, a referral program is the way to go. First, you encourage your current customers to spread the word about your products or services to their friends, family, or colleagues. In return, you express your gratitude by offering them a bunch of fun incentives. These incentives can take many forms and be of various types. You can give them generous discounts, exclusive access to upcoming offerings, or even special gifts as tokens of appreciation. Or, if you want to be more specific, offer a free gift for every referral.
The beauty of this strategy is that it not only helps you attract new customers who come with a built-in level of trust thanks to the recommendation, but it also creates a sense of belonging and community around your brand. This, in turn, strengthens customer loyalty. When you plan and execute this program thoughtfully, it becomes a win-win situation. Your customers receive valuable rewards, and your business enjoys growth through the combined power of word-of-mouth marketing and strengthened customer relationships.
Create your own custom gift cards for small businesses today!
The above tactics have probably given you a bunch of great gift ideas for customers. Now it’s your turn. Whether you’re looking for e-gift cards for small businesses, custom gift cards, or gift vouchers, you can start off your client gift giving strategy on PosterMyWall. Just pick out the design you like, head onto the editor to customize it to your brand and hit save to use your gift voucher for online user, quality printouts, and more.
Qasim is a senior editor at PosterMyWall. Qasim is a reader and writer during and after work, and likes to explore a wide range of topics and niches. Outside of work, he likes to meditate, listen to good music and journal.
